checking out a product.

this is a part of our daily life - i'd say that even at this point in our family's gluten free adventure, we are still looking up a product at least a few times a week, but probably more. sometimes they're new products we're looking up - getting adventurous, hoping to try a new spice or sauce or flavor. but just as often, we are looking up a product that we have been using for years, just to make sure that it's still safe. check out these tips for when to look things up, and how exactly to do that. 1. look it up online. this is often the easiest, or maybe i should say the quickest, but isn't guaranteed to get you an answer. that being said, if you're in a group of people, or in a hurry, looking up a specific product online can get you an answer quickly if you go by this rule - if you can't be sure, don't do it. you can get creative and come up with a slogan that rhymes, or plays a nice tune in your head, as long as at the end of the day you are super clear that if you can't be absolutely sure that something is gluten free through and through, don't use it. no way, no how, no acceptions. so back to looking it up online... here's what we do - go to google, and type the exact name of the product followed by the words "gluten free". you'll be given a whole lot of options after that, some applicable (hopefully) and some not at all. what you're looking for are a couple of things:

i. a reputable source. ideally, you’re looking for a statement directly from the company. second best is a reputable source, ie a blogger that you have come to trust, who has spoken directly with the company. heresay is not a good idea, we all know how the game of telephone works! and stay far, far away from this claim “my friend can’t have gluten either, and he eats this and is totally fine”.... this is just asking for disaster. for the whole skinny on this situation check out gluten 101.

ii. a recent statement. i draw the line at a year old. anything older, i don’t take as truth. have you ever noticed how often companies change their packaging? well its the same thing with their ingredients, and their manufacturing practices. in our house we go by the one year rule to stay current, and if we can’t find a solid statement from the company within the last year, we consider it an unknown and we either steer clear of the product, or look into it further. i learned this the hard way, and would love to save you from doing the same!

2. call or email the company. i prefer this option, while it is labor intensive, it is the safest way to get accurate information. many companies are actually easier than you’d think to deal with - for example, we’ll often call a company right from the grocery store while we’re contemplating buying their product. let’s take ham, for example - i’ve spent some good time with a great customer service rep sorting through ham at the store, trying to find one that was safe to bring home for thanksgiving dinner. we traded sku’s back and forth and eventually she was able to confirm that a ham i had found in the store was gluten free! products will almost always have a phone number right on them, but you can also look them up online by googling the company name, and navigating your way to the customer service contact information. my tips for calling a company:

i. be nice, but be very clear. i say almost the same thing in this case as i do at a restaurant - “i have a serious gluten allergy, and i’d really like to use your product (insert name of product here ;). are you able to tell me if it is gluten free?”. if the answer is no right off the bat, then you’re finished the process.

ii. do some more digging. if the answer is yes, be sure to do a little more digging - remember, the person on the other end of the phone is likely not gluten free, and likely doesn’t know the ins and outs of safely eating gluten free. be your own advocate. “is it made on the same lines as anything with gluten?” if no, great! if yes, you’ll want to find out if they follow gmp’s (good manufacturing practices) to ensure that there is no cross contamination. if no, then put that product back on the shelf. if yes, you are almost there!

iii. confirm. there’s something about being accidentally glutenized on too many occasions that compels me to go through with this third step. put together all the information they’ve given you one last time to confirm “so just to be sure, this product is completely free from gluten, and isn’t made anywhere where it could have come in contact with gluten?”.

*its the same thing when you send an email - look up the company online, find an email for customer service, and send away! i like this option as i like to have things in writing.

3. be country specific. believe it or not, product will almost alway vary slightly from one country to the next. so when you look up a product, especially if its online, make sure that you're finding information for your country. if not, give them a shout to get the correct information.

4. check back often. as i've already mentioned, companies change their ways as often our son changes his outfit... well, almost as often. this goes for all of your products - unfortunately, companies don't put out a press release everytime they make a small change to one of their ingredient lists, but that small change might be the difference between gluten free and gluten filled! you could asign a different month to different products, to spread out the work. every august you could look up school and craft supplies. every september you could look up lunch meat, and your favorite snack foods - chips, fruit snacks, etc. every october you could look up candy and chocolate bars, just in time for halloween. and so on and so on. be sure to add your toiletries - soaps, shampoo, makeup, lotions, etc to your list as those could change just as easily as food could, as could your dish soap, laundry detergent, cleaning supplies, etc. on the flip side, you might at one time look up a product you absolutely love, that isn't gluten free. unless it's a product that is based on a gluten-filled ingredient, such as bread, or twix bars, or cookies and cream ice cream, there's always the chance that in the future the company may make it without gluten! so check back to see if in the coming years they jump on the gluten free bandwagon and accommodate you!